Thursday, December 25, 2008

He doesn't understand...or perhaps he understands all too well!

We have a Christmas tradition of making a donation for the boys as one of their gifts. This year is the first time we thought they were old enough to be really involved in the process, so after opening our gifts and eating breakfast, we sat down to talk about giving to people who have less than us.

I said, "We give money to help people who need it."

B-man said, "Maybe we should give it to the bank."

Has he been listening to NPR while my back was turned???

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We ended up picking some ducks and some chickens to donate through World Vision. I thought something concrete would be easier for them to understand than just sending a check to March of Dimes or Red Cross or something. We were looking through all the things we could donate, talking about them and how they'd help people. When we picked the ducks, N-man said, "Wait, I have another duck!" Then he ran to the bathtub to get his rubber ducky.

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All in all, it was a fun experience. I can't wait for future years to see what kinds of charities they'll get interested in!

what a funny story. the things kids say. maybe this means he'll be smart with money/a good investor when he is older?

i think it is great you are getting them involved in charity work so young. while my parents donated, they never involved my sister and i, so we didn't have that base when we got older. my hubby is very involved, and i have become more so since meeting him. it is truly a great thing.

About Me

I'm a stay at home mom to twin boys who were born in 2005, and a new baby brother born in 2009. We have adventures, we laugh, we cry. I write it all down. Come, enter all ye who dare! But just don't expect this to be an "all parenting all the time" kind of blog. I'll wax poetic about books, or cook up a post about food, or just blurt out some random randomness. Wear a helmet so you don't get hurt!

What I've been reading

Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson. You know how some authors are just a perfect fit for you? That's Bryson for me. I love his writing, and have a weird affection for etymology, so this was a match made in heaven. Loved it!

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck. What an interesting snapshot of America in the early 60s. Some parts were really compelling, a good read.

John Dies at the End by David Wong. Weird. Not bad, but weird.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh. I love her blog--at least half of this book is directly reprinted from the blog so I'd already read it. She touches on depression (like on her blog), which provides that strange funny/depressing dichotomy.

Stranger than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk. Collection of short autobiographical and non-fiction stuff. Great...enjoyed more than some of his novels!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Really enjoyable book! Part dystopian, part techno thriller, with some lite cyberpunk tossed in along with heavy doses of geek culture and 80's memorabilia. Definitely worth a read!

Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff. I read Beautiful Boy, the memoir by Nic Sheff's father about his meth addiction last month. To say a drug addict makes a questionably believable narrator is something of an understatement, but this was still a really interesting story. Would like to read his followup memoir.

My Beloved Brotosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Brian Switek. Interesting science book by a paleontologist. Funny chapter on dinosaur reproduction theories. Overall interesting, though sometimes the author's stories make him sound entirely incapable of advance planning. In a fun way.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Enjoyed the first half of the book, but thought it was going to be a straightforward "woman in peril" kind of book. Loved when the second part started. Ended up really enjoying this one.

Vurt by Jeff Noon. This book was weird. Not bad, just out there. I'm not a huge fan of cyberpunk, which this is, but this was okay. Would certainly recommend to fans of the genre.